Book Review: The False Prince
Author: Jennifer A. Nielsen
Publisher: Scholastic
Rating: 5
Synopsis (via Goodreads): In a discontent kingdom, civil war is brewing. To unify the divided people, Conner, a nobleman of the court, devises a cunning plan to find an impersonator of the king's long-lost son and install him as a puppet prince. Four orphans are recruited to compete for the role, including a defiant boy named Sage. Sage knows that Conner's motives are more than questionable, yet his life balances on a sword's point -- he must be chosen to play the prince or he will certainly be killed. But Sage's rivals have their own agendas as well. As Sage moves from a rundown orphanage to Conner's sumptuous palace, layer upon layer of treachery and deceit unfold, until finally, a truth is revealed that, in the end, may very well prove more dangerous than all of the lies taken together. An extraordinary adventure filled with danger and action, lies and deadly truths that will have readers clinging to the edge of their seats.
Review: Book two of the five I'm responsible for reading during my Battle of the Books competition is another winner of the awesomesauce award! I've had the best luck recently when it comes to books and their kickass plots. I'm going to be thoroughly depressed when I stumble across a dud...
Sage (picture Aladdin) is an orphan who is trapped in an orphanage run by a horrible woman (picture Miss Hattie from Despicable Me) and often finds himself in trouble -- stealing food, what else? -- when one day, out of nowhere, nobility knocks on the orphanage door requesting Sage personally. While other orphans would see this opportunity as a way to live a new life, Sage figures that he'll just be taken in as a servant. (You know, nothing too extravagant). The snowball of a plot starts rolling and the reader quickly discovers Conner's motives are nothing but evil and Sage seems a little bit too comfortable in the royal castle. Lie after lie, test after test, Sage transforms into Conner's false prince, which may or may not turn out for the better.
Although a bit slow in the beginning, The False Prince was, as stated in the synopsis, "an extraordinary adventure." I felt that all the characters were well-rounded and the plot was something original. You don't come across a book about good 'ole kings, queens, and castles every day! While Sage was learning about the nobility line, I did get confused, but it wasn't of utmost importance so I shook it off as a minor detail.
The conclusion was beautiful. To be honest, I think my face looked something like this:
My face looked like this during the whole book...
I regret nothing.
Comments
Post a Comment